Growth of data storage capacity and big data has far outpaced the rate of increase of data transmission bandwidth capable of transferring large quantities of data. In some instances transmitting large quantities of data from one storage facility to another storage facility may be prohibitively costly (e.g., requiring costly system upgrades) or lengthy (e.g., transmission taking months to years). Alternatively, in some instances, storage media currently storing large quantities of data may be physically moved to transfer large quantities of data between storage facilities. However, physically moving storage media storing large quantities of data may leave the data on legacy hardware or may not be an available option (e.g., when the data is stored at a storage facility operated by a storage service on behalf of a customer).
In some instances, data may be transferred between storage facilities using a storage device. The storage device may be shipped from one storage facility to another storage facility where the data is transferred to another storage system. However, transferring large quantities of data from a storage facility to another storage facility via shipping storage devices may involve placing multiple storage devices into multiple containers and placing labels on the containers. The packaging and labeling process involved in shipping multiple storage devices may provide numerous opportunities for human mistakes that prevent a correct storage device from being shipped to a correct destination. For example, a storage device may be inadvertently placed in a wrong box or a wrong label may be placed on a box. This may cause a storage device to not be received at its intended location. In addition, there are costs associated with packaging storage devices in containers and there are risks that storage devices may be damaged in transport if not properly packaged.
In some situations, customers of a storage service may operate in a facility that does not permit computing devices to be placed on a floor of the facility, such as a co-location facility. Such customers may require that any storage devices received by the customer be configured to mount in a rack.
While embodiments are described herein by way of example for several embodiments and illustrative drawings, those skilled in the art will recognize that embodiments are not limited to the embodiments or drawings described. It should be understood, that the drawings and detailed description thereto are not intended to limit embodiments to the particular form disclosed, but on the contrary, the intention is to cover all modifications, equivalents and alternatives falling within the spirit and scope as defined by the appended claims. The headings used herein are for organizational purposes only and are not meant to be used to limit the scope of the description or the claims. As used throughout this application, the word “may” is used in a permissive sense (i.e., meaning having the potential to), rather than the mandatory sense (i.e., meaning must). Similarly, the words “include,” “including,” and “includes” mean including, but not limited to.